Sergiy Derevyanchenko vs. Carlos Adames — Round 7: Adames started clinching when was terence crawford's last fight Derevyanchenko got inside. Adames did land a good cross to the chin of Derevyanchenko and his clinching smothered Derevyanchenko’s ability to get off with work at the range he wanted to be. Adames threw a few good uppercuts in a round where Derevyanchenko lost a bit of momentum.

His face reddening rapidly, Spence refused to quit. But, quite correctly, the referee took that decision out of his hands and brought those in attendance to their feet in acknowledgment of a truly special performance and generational talent in Crawford, who celebrated joyously by dancing with his mother Debbie in the center of the ring.

Round 2: Another overhand right followed by a left to the body was the highlight of the punishment Crawford dished out in the second round. Entering this bout, Khan had carved out the reputation of being a quick starter. Well, not this fight. (20-17 Crawford)

However, the 23-1 Rocha is the WBO’s No.1 challenger and if he keeps winning, then a title shot will eventually come. Realistically, he’s far down the pecking order and should just focus on staying busy and improving his game.

After enduring pre-fight trash talk from Romero, it was Cruz who established his dominance early, connecting with a left hook to the top of the head that wobbled Romero badly in round one. Although Romero steadied himself and valiantly survived the round, he was never able to shake Cruz with his own power.

Spence, who holds the WBA, WBC and IBF titles, is with PBC while Crawford formerly was with Top Rank, entities that rarely conduct business with one another. Top Rank did promote Crawford's title defense against PBC fighter Shawn Porter in November 2021, but that was a bout mandated by the WBO.

On July 29, 2023, Cruz was back in the ring in a WBC/WBA World Lightweight Title Eliminator against Giovanni Cabrera as the co-main event to the Errol Spence-Terence Crawford SHOWTIME PPV. Cruz (25-2-1, 17 KOs) was the aggressor throughout, edging the unbeaten Cabrera (21-1, 7 KOs) via split decision. He was deducted a point in round eight due to headbutts yet won the bout with scores of 115-112 and 114-113, with one judge scoring the action 114-113 for Cabrera.

"I only dreamed of being a world champion," said Crawford, who extended his streak of 11 straight knockouts, including all eight opponents he’s faced since moving up to 147lbs. "I’m an overachiever. Nobody believed in me when I was coming up, but I made everybody a believer. I want to thank Spence and his team because without him none of this would have been possible."

"It depends on what weight they fight in, but if they’re going to be fighting in Canelo’s current weight category, I think it will be very difficult for Crawford," Madrimov said through his manager, Vadim Kornilov.

Romero was able to show enough movement and ring savvy to push the fight into the second half. He also attempted to strategically hold and keep Cruz off of him, but was deducted a point in round five for excessively holding. Despite these efforts, he was once again hurt late in round seven, this time from an onslaught that began with a straight right hand to the head.

He did—one, Terence "Bud" Crawford—and that’s what mattered. Just the little punk—his words—from Omaha who saw far beyond his state and far beyond what most expected from him in his sport. His in-ring interview continued, and the emotional tsunami of the moment hit him harder than Spence ever had all night. "I have so many emotions I could cry right now," he said.

They said it: Ed Herman: "This is a permanent move to light heavyweight. I feel like I have a lot more energy and power in this division. I saw a lot of openings in the first round to land the knee, he didn’t have a lot of movement. I went back to my corner between rounds and they saw the same, so I knew going into the second round that’s what I had to do. Who’s the champion in this division? Daniel Cormier – I want you next." Prefight reading/viewing

The postfight ritual hinged on the premise that sold the fight — that Crawford, 35, and Spence, 33, are both champions. But only Crawford is the undisputed champion. The win on Saturday, in which he landed twice as many punches as Spence did, makes him the first welterweight to hold titles from all four major sanctioning bodies.

A couple of celebrities have started to mill into the arena. Manny Pacquiao drew the most attention as he made his way from the tunnel to his ringside seat alongside wife Jinkee during the closing rounds of the Santiago-Donaire fight. Chance the Rapper, NBA star Damian Lillard, former NFL player turned sports-shouting pundit Shannon Sharpe are here. Oh, and there’s Mike Tyson.

Crawford's first defense of the WBO title was slated to take place on October 13, 2018. Early reports stated his likely opponent would be former WBA interim light welterweight champion José Benavidez (27–0, 18 KOs). On September 6, despite having two years left of his contract, Crawford signed a new multi-year deal with Top Rank. On signing the extension, Crawford said, "I am the best fighter in the world, hands down. ESPN is the biggest brand in sports and Top Rank is the biggest promotional company in boxing. This was a no-brainer for me and my team. All of the super fights that the world wants to see will happen. Like I've said before, I want all of the champions in the welterweight division." The fight against Benavidez was also announced by Top Rank to take place at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.